Articles

By now you’ve undoubtedly seen the headlines that Google and as many as two dozen other technology companies came under attack by a coordinated hacking effort launched from China.  That’s interesting on many levels, not the least of which is that information technology and information — even about or maybe especially about individuals is an overripe ripe intelligence target.

Computer security is more critical than ever

Google may in fact take its ball and go home, packing it up in China if the company feels government restrictions there are onerous.  That’s interesting, and you probably should know about the issue which is why I included a link, but the big news is what the Chinese hack attack means for your Gmail account. Google has announced that the previously optional security setting that allowed users to use Gmail on unencrypted pages is no more.  The new default is encryption for Gmail, which means that users will soon be accessing an https: prefix.   This matters to you because it means your email from point A to point B just got much more secure, which is a good thing.   As the new article says, secure Gmail is rolling out in waves to the entire Gmail population, but I’ve already seen it on my main account. That doesn’t mean that Google itself doesn’t know exactly what you’re searching for and writing about.  Don’t ever believe that.   And don’t believe that your searching, browsing, writing and other activities are invisible.  Law enforcement and other entities can and do regularly subpoena this information from Google and every company I can think of dealing with data.    We even include a line in the terms of service for our e-commerce clients that gives the client the right to cooperate with law enforcement. Google published some good computer security guidelines along with the changes.    Take a look and make sure you’re protected.

Articles

Only 43% of U.S. companies expect to provide compensation increases in 2010.  In addition to the wage freeze, 37% of companies say they plan to cut benefits.

The Society of Human Resources Professional quotes a Careerbuilder survey that claims 65% of companies provided compensation increases during the deepest part of the recession and only 32% planned to cut benefits. That’s a 12% decrease in companies offering raises during 2010. And a 13% increase in companies cutting benefits.

On top of this bleak employee news is last week’s 2% increase for federal government employees. If you haven’t spoken yet spoken with your employees and been transparent about whether you plan to offer raises this year, you should make that topic a hot priority.  Mainstream media continues reporting about a jobless recovery, but media reports can’t shoulder your burden. If you’re not giving employees a pay increase during 2010, part of being a responsive employer is telling them now to reduce their anxiety and be fair.

You can be certain that anyone you might lose over this issue is going to walk if you plan on freezing compensation this year.  Whether they walk right now or when you tell them in a few weeks or months is akin to choosing what poison you plan to breathe.

Cynics will note that the true jobless rate is over 17% while reported unemployment is 10%.   That means many employees likely won’t leave over compensation issues.  Your stars won’t leave if you’ve created a great environment.  And if you have staff who aren’t stars that leave, this is an employer’s market so wish them well and hire a star because you surely don’t buy into that nonsense about having a mix of star and average employees on your team.

As a small business owner, you need to be blunt, but kind.   You’ll need talking points about when you anticipate restoring compensation increases.  Your accountant and attorney should be involved at least in reviewing your talking points.  If your organization is big enough to have a HR professional, put that person on the case today with a draft due to you by Wednesday so you can make the announcement Friday.

Your takeaway as a small business leader is that staying quiet about compensation is an unacceptable form of avoidance for any organization, much less a small business in the midst of a horrible economic downturn.

Articles

Gmail users are able to customize their email experience as well as mail for almost any platform.  That and the free or low cost may be one of the reasons for Gmail’s ubiquity.  I even saw Gmail in use on Capitol Hill last year while visiting my Senator’s office. Gmail send and archive option

When I talk with Gmail users, however, few discuss the extended Labs function.  In a few rare instances, I’ve had to restart my email, but almost all of the Labs features I’ve used are time savers, utility enhancements or even solved a problem I didn’t know I had.

The Send and Archive feature falls into all of those categories. You know that person who spent too much time in the ’90s categorizing their email?  Yep, that was me.  But with virtually unlimited storage, I don’t even mess with tagging or other features any longer.  Instead I make use of the Send & Archive feature.

The feature adds another button next to the boring old SEND button.  Once the mail is sent, Gmail places the thread in the “All Mail” area. No muss, no fuss, and if you need to find something later, just remember a phrase to narrow your search or look at all the mail you sent during that time or to that person.

If you’re using Gmail and your inbox has more than a few pieces inside, do yourself a favor and check out the SEND & ARCHIVE feature now.  All you need to do is click the LABS icon in the upper right corner that looks like a beaker (labs, get it?) and scroll down.  And a friendly hint:  add only one new labs feature at a time.  You’ll thank me for that advice later.